The Misfits

I know by now the Misfits are probably standard for the Halloween season but kicking off any Halloween season requires some Misfits tunes. I’m going to be posting more of my other new and favorite Halloween treats that are hopefully less known of in hopes to spread the Halloween cheer but we have to start off with the gold standard.

The Misfits, to me, perfectly encompass the Halloween season. They play straight up american punk but all their songs are about horror movies or horror themes. You probably at least recognize their iconic “Crimson Ghost” logo which the band stole from the 1946 film serial The Crimson Ghost.

They rocked around the punk scene from 1977 to 1983 with band members Glenn Danzig, Jerry Only and a rotating cast of drummers and guitarist. After the break up Danzig went on to form another awesome band Samhain which transitioned into his more well known band Danzig. Jerry and his brother (and Misfits guitarist) Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein formed the short lived and epic-ly metalish Kryst the Conqueror with singer Jeff Scott Soto who sang on the first two Yngwie Malmsteen albums and also went on to front Journey on their 2006-2007 tour.

The Misfits reformed in 1995 sans Danzig on vocals. Instead they added Michale Graves to sing and Dr. Chud on the drums. This is the era of The Misfits I recall the most as I was way to little to see them in their hey day. Again, the band broke up and everybody went their separate ways except Jerry Only who still carries on the shattered remains of the band to this day.

The Misfits are one of my favorite bands. I first found out about them in an ad in a Marvel comic in the 90’s. The ad was for a new Venom comic and it had some of the lyrics from The Misfits classic song Braineaters (brains for breakfast, brains for lunch…). They introduced me to punk rock and ignited my flame for horror. I even have a Crimson Ghost tattoo.

To me the season isn’t complete without some Misfits. I’ll usually jam them all month long but they always kick start the season for me and end it. If you aren’t familiar with them, do yourself a favor and jump head first into their legacy if only for the season.